Harry’s tantalising baby clue
FATHER-TO-BE Prince Harry last night suddenly cancelled an official trip to Amsterdam he was due to make next week.
But aides insisted that he and his wife Meghan still have no idea when their baby – now a week overdue – will make an appearance.
Indeed, sources have indicated that the couple, who are currently at Frogmore Cottage, their new Windsor home, are waiting with as much eager anticipation as the rest of the country.
‘They are happy and relaxed and looking forward to the arrival – whenever that may be,’ said one.
It is understood that the baby, who will be seventh in line to the throne, had been due last weekend.
Friends, including US television anchorwoman Gayle King, have been visiting, and the duchess’s mother, Doria Ragland, is on hand to help calm any nerves.
Intriguingly, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new office at Buckingham Palace announced to much headscratching on Wednesday that Harry would undertake a two-day official visit to The Netherlands next week.
It said that the prince would visit Amsterdam on Wednesday and The Hague on Thursday, where he would mark the one-year countdown to the 2020 Invictus Games, his inspirational Paralympic- style event for injured service personnel.
The announcement caused surprise because it meant he could potentially be away from his very young baby overnight or may – if it hadn’t made an appearance by then – be forced to cancel at the last minute.
The trip also clashed with a highprofile visit to Germany for his father, Prince Charles, and the Duchess of Cornwall, which starts on Tuesday, and several major domestic engagements for his brother, Prince William, and the Duchess of Cambridge.
Amid behind-the-scenes concerns about the somewhat chaotic scheduling, the palace yesterday made a second announcement saying that ‘due to logistical planning’ over ‘visits and engagements by the Royal Family we have taken the decision to postpone the Duke of Sussex’s scheduled visit to Amsterdam’.
It said he was still hoping to travel to The Hague on Thursday for the Invictus launch, because he could fly in and out in a day.
The couple have decided to keep details around the birth private but aides say they hope to announce when the duchess has gone into labour and then, later, details of the baby’s sex, weight and where it was born. The Daily Mail has been told that Meghan hopes to try for a home birth if there are no complications. Buckingham Palace also announced yesterday that Lady Gabriella Windsor, daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, will follow in Harry and Meghan’s footsteps and marry at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, on May 18. The wedding will be attended by the Queen and other members of the Royal Family.